It will still be an awesome event as a tarmac hillclimb, and even in recent years it's been partly paved, so more of the Vatanen fireworks and gravel flying through those bends. Sad I know, but maybe now we'll see single-seaters and the like take on the hill!?!

Pikes peak will grow to be bigger than before with the all tarmac track. Now most track cars can enter the race. That means a huge increase in potensial competitiors. Espesially since its in the US where there seems to be a whole lot of different race classes in onroad.

yeah but still most of the road was paved last year.. Every year it got more and more paved, and that had nothing to do with water run off more so making a proper road for tourists to get up the mountain.

yeah but still most of the road was paved last year.. Every year it got more and more paved, and that had nothing to do with water run off more so making a proper road for tourists to get up the mountain.

In the early 1990's the Sierra Club sued the city of Colorado Springs, and the road being paved is a direct result of that lawsuit. It was about the water (and sediment) runoff from the road getting into the streams. The last of the paving project was completed in Aug 2011, and thus 2012 will be the first year that features an entirely paved race course.

While many predicted that a fully paved course would be the demise of the event, the record number of entries received is testament to (worldwide) interest in this race. The board has had to revise the entry date to Jan 31st, and there will be a qualifying procedure introduced for the race for 2012. This is the first time since the late 1970's that there has been a need to limit the entry level. There has been a 115% qualy rule in place for many years, but to my knowledge, it has never been enforced.

More pictures of the RS200. It has a EDB even. i hope it beats Rhys Millen. That would be hillarious.

unless Rhys experiences mechanical issues, I seriously doubt that Mr Doran will even come close. It amuses me no end to see a succession of experienced racers who think they can show up and beat everyone to the top of the mountain. Anyone who has raced at Pikes Peak knows the challenge is the mountain itself, not necessarily the other competitors in class.

We saw the Rallycross based Ford's (with no less a driver than M Gronholm) arrive a few years ago, and tell the whole world they were going to conquer the mountain, only to leave after the mountain humbled them, and they have not returned since.

The Doran's should read the rule book thoroughly before presenting for tech, as there are a number of issues I can spot from the pictures that may not be to the liking of the tech guys. Also Carbon F1 brakes, really? why? Hello Engineers Corner!!

Hopefully Liam drove up Pikes Peak in 2011 when he was at the Global Rallycross Event at Pikes Peak Raceway, that may prepare him somewhat for the challenge ahead of him. Also hope that the Doran entry has already been submitted and paid for, and that the committee selects his entry, otherwise all this braggadocio will be for naught. If Mr Doran was serious about this, he would have entered to take part in the only testing available on the mountain, but I don't see him listed. Don't forget, race day is the easiest part of Pikes Peak, it is the killer schedule during race week that usually results in mistakes and error's.

To me the really cool thing about Pikes Peak and the Unlimited class is the almost total lack of rules. Submit a car that passes safety, and virtually anything else goes. If Monster does not show (and really, what can he hope to prove in 2012?) my money will be on JP Dayraut in the Dacia, they really showed very well in their rookie year, and are quite capable of taking the overall victory.

Best of luck to all entrants, but my money is on experience and guile, not on a rookie with some energy drink money. I'd like to see Paul Dellenbach have some good luck for a change, he has certainly paid his dues on the mountain

Those of you wanting to spectate, my advice is to make sure you catch at least one of the practice / qualy days, you will see a lot more, and be off the mountain at a reasonable time. Also make sure you catch FanFest in downtown Colorado Springs on Friday evening. And pay attention if you are visiting the area for the first time, the race starts at over 9000 feet, and while it may be July you can experience all 4 seasons in the space of an hour. The altitude is no joke either.

More pictures of the RS200. It has a EDB even. i hope it beats Rhys Millen. That would be hillarious.

I wonder what's with the endplate design? Do some rules mandate it? It's nothing new, but I always though its due to the rules not allowing a normal multi stage wing on it's full span.With such high AoA the endplate section of the wing should experience flow separation etc, shouldn't it? Or do the proximity of the dual (let's call it) endplates prevent this? The AoA is lower than on the main section, but still it's high.

The car Gronholm showed up in was a joke. must have been in the 1200kg+ and probably no more that 5-600hp. AND he had a co pilot..

With such high AoA the endplate section of the wing should experience flow separation etc, shouldn't it?

if you mean the outer part with only one section.. yea looks a bit steep. edit: actually it is more of a extention of the orginal spoiler. Its lower section is not in the "clean" air. The aero seems a bit down prioritied. But they have slapped on a lot and thats better than nothing.

It could be that it get aero updates prior to the race. isnt the race in june or something?

All I can say is Palatov/DPCars are in for a rude shock when they go and play with the big boys.

The big announcement (already made on facebook) - we are officially moving forward with the Pikes Peak Quest. David Donner will drive our D4 Turbo on the mountain in July in the Unlimited class, going for the overall win. Go big or go home, right? The competition is sure to be intense so we have our work cut out for us. Needless to say the car will have to be something special to take on Tajima, Millen and other top contenders, especially since our budget is nowhere near theirs. We're looking at a number of aero options, upgraded drivetrain choices and so on. There are some rules-driven rollcage mods too but I pretty much have them figured out already (reality: safety trumps style when you're faced with sheer cliffs and rocks). It will be a fun journey and will be documented on the sponsors-only blog. Yes, sorry, if you want to track our progress you'll have to join the Quest - we don't exactly want to announce everything we're doing to the whole world, yet. And, well, we can use all the support we can get

if its all tarmac then they can grab a bunch of time with slick tyres too

It's not as simple as that, as the dirt goes asphalt comes for sure but the road narrows a lot so balance is kept - remember Millen ran a 10.04 many years ago with a lot more dirt sections than last years 10.01.

The car rod millen had is probably competitive even today if you just give it some tiny tweaks.

All I can say is Palatov/DPCars are in for a rude shock when they go and play with the big boys.

I think its really cool that they do it. Even if they end up far behind its still a great way to promote your car. And i think a turbo powered hayabusa engine in that thing could make it go at least as fast as the Turbo NSX that is going. I have not seen the NSX mind you..

Doesn't look too bad, but seems quite oversteery, especially under braking. As he says, needs to be about 10% faster, I think it may be more realistically 15% considering the cars that are coming this year. The Lovefab NSX is ridiculous and it was making 600 whp on pump gas. What kind of gas are they allowed to use? Race gas?